The end that was the begining
by TakodaChayton
Summary: Hermione is forced with choosing between her freedom and being responsible for the light side loosing the war. Sometimes few have to be sacraficed in order to save the many but that concept is very different when its you having to give up your life. A marriage law challange with a twist you wont see coming!
1. Chapter 1

Hi, This is will a nice size novel type story and a marriage law challange. This is my first story so any comments will be greatly appreciated. Updates will be at least weekly. I have always loved marriage law challanges but I am putting my own little twist to it. She is a seventh year in this story but is 18 and consenting. Snape will be a little OOC but still the same snarky bastard as always deep down inside and you will see it come out every now and then and shake things up.

Disclaimer- I do not own the charicters in this story and envy JK Rowling who dose! I just play with them since she is done with them!

-Hermione refused to open her missive from the ministry of magic. She already knew what it contained. The marriage law had been passed not a month before since the population of the wizarding world was greatly decreased from a recent epidemic. Every muggle born over 18 was required to marry a pure blood and produce an offspring within one year or go to Azkaban. Not only did the ministry take away their right of when to marry but they took away the right of who they were to marry.

They stated in their article in the daily prophet that in order to ensure the survival of their race each pairing would be based on the ministries assessment of who was biologically most likely to create multiple offspring. What methods they used, she didn't know, she just knew she didn't want any part of this. She would snap her wand and join the muggle world. She refused to become a baby incubator for the ministry of magic.

She finished putting her neatly folded cloths in the large duffel bag that her parents had given her years ago for a birthday. She had already put in her toiltieries and several of her non magical books for some reading material for the journey along with her savings from her summer job. She gingery picked up the picture of her friends in front of the great lake at Hogwarts taken last year and felt her heart clench. They looked so happy.

She would never see them again. Never say goodbye. She wiped the tears off her face and put the picture frame onto of the already packed clothes and zipped up the bag. The light was almost gone from the sky a bright red sunset taking over outside her childhood home. As soon as it was dark she would leave, and never look back. She sat on her light blue bed that she had meticulously made earlier staring at all her possessions that she was leaving behind. The ministry was ruining her life.

She heard a strong knock at the door downstairs but didn't bother going to see who it was, she really of didn't feel like entertaining company today she just wanted to sit here and soak everything in. Alone. She started shifting through some of her photo albums from Hogwarts and smiled sadly when the magical pictures waved back at her. She was pulled out of her thoughts by her dad suddenly shouting,

"Absolutely not!" She had never heard her father raise his voice so the sound was foreign to her and sent chills through her body. Something had to be seriously wrong for him to flip out like that. She had to go see what's going on her curiosity wouldn't let her ignore such a strange occurrence. She put down the old photo album and padded down the stairs to the living room freezing in her tracks when she saw who the company was.

"Professor? Headmaster? What are you doing here?" She exclaimed suddenly aware of the fact that she was only wearing a tank top and short shorts. It was summer after all. Both of them looked amazingly out of place the headmaster in his exuberant robes and Snape in his blackest robes glaring daggers at the wall not even acknowledging her presence obviously not wanting to be there. The headmaster however greeted her with a warm smile and his twinkling eyes.

"Ah Hermione, nice to see you are doing well." He said either not noticing or ignoring her inappropriate wardrobe.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked suddenly worried. Had her plan been found out? Were they here to force her to get married? She would not do it! She would stand her ground she didn't care what they had to say. Her dad looked mad as hell and obviously barely controlling his rage.

"I will not stand for this! She is my only daughter I will not marry her off like some piece of meat!" He told the headmaster fiercely and she couldn't help but feel very loved in that moment.

"Its okay daddy I have no intention of getting married I am leaving the wizarding world. I'm assuming that's why you guys are here?" She questioned coldly.

"Nothing you can do or say will convince me marry some guy I don't love so don't waste your breath. I'm snapping my wand tonight, and that is that." She stated daring the headmaster to object with her cold stare. He seemed unfazed by her statement but rather shocked and maybe a little...was it sadness she saw? She couldn't be sure whatever it was passed quickly.

"You might want to reconsider that statement Ms. Granger, I know this must be incredibly hard on you and I am doing everything in my power to get this law repealed, but have you thought about the long term consequences of your decision? Severus will be killed and if he dies we lose the war." The headmaster said sadly looking into her chocolate eyes looking very much like a pleading puppy dog in that moment. She barely noticed however concerned that her headmaster had finally lost his marbles. She looked to snape who didn't deny what the crazy headmaster had said instead looking at the pictures on the wall with a scowl that she was surprised didn't shatter them.

"How on earth will me not becoming a baby factory cause snape to die? That doesn't even make sense professor are you quite okay?"

"You didn't read your letter did you?" Snape growled finally turning to her, only to fix her with his deadliest glare. She bristled annoyed.

"Why on earth would I do that I don't plan on getting married I don't care what they have to say." She said defensively crossing her arms suddenly feeling very foolish under the potions professors glare. He rolled his eyes huffing annoyed at her idiocy.

"Well maybe if you had opened your letter instead of coming up with this foolhardy plan you would have found out that we had been placed together. "He said talking to her like she was a five year old who didn't do what they'd been told. She burst out laughing at the absurdity of his statement.

"The ministry thought me and you would be a good pair! Did they have a death wish for me?" She laughed heartedly for the first time since the article in the daily prophet had appeared. She laughed so hard she started crying before she was able to get a semblance of control over herself. Snape simply glared at her unimpressed by her maturity level.

"Not the ministry, the dark lord." He said coldly causing the amusement from his previous statement to dissipate rapidly. She started laughing and laughed so hard she started crying before she was able to get a semblance of control over herself. Snape simply glared at her unimpressed by her maturity level.

"Not the ministry, the dark lord." He said coldly causing the amusement from his previous statement to dissipate rapidly.

"You mean the madman that's been chasing after her best friend to kill him is now trying to kill her…and you expect her to stay in your world? I think not!" Her father yelled at the headmaster harshly.

"I will have no part in this, Herminoie you are 18 so I can't stop you from marrying this…this…pervert, but if you do you will be disowned and never welcome back in this family." She felt like crying as her father and mother left the room refusing to look at her. She really expect her mom would've said he was being irrational and calm her dad down but she walked past Hermione cold as ice obviously supporting her dads decision. She knew why they were here now. The marriage law was Voldemorts new plan to cause chaos in the wizarding world and he was trying to take the light side down from the inside out by forcing the muggle borns to marry pure bloods to do their bidding and be their servants. She felt bile rise up in her throat. If she didn't marry snape, the dark lord would kill him, and their cause would be lost without an inside agent. She would single handedly be responsible for the end of the world as she knew it if she refused him.

The headmaster and snape looked at each other shocked her dad would disown her so easily but there was nothing she could do about that. As much as it hurt her, they never had understood her world and knew it would happen at some point or another. She took a shaky breath refusing to let the tears she so badly wanted to shed out in front of her professors. Life was so unfair sometimes.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Snape said his voice tight but held no malice in it which was unusual for him. He refused to look at her but instead turned his eyes back to the horrid pictures that taunted her of her family smiling carefree. She felt pity for him. He didn't think he was worth it to her. She would be giving up her freedom yes, but if she didn't he would die. He thought his life so invaluable that she would choose her freedom over his life.

She shouldn't be surprised even after everything he had given to ensure a victory for the light even the order members treated him with contempt maybe that was why he was so harsh all of the time. He had to be in order to survive. She felt something stirring in her heart for the man that had made her life at Hogwarts miserable. She had to help him.

"Well Miss Granger?" The headmaster asked kindly his eyes twinkling brightly already knowing her answer.

"I want a proper proposal." She said softly resigning herself to her new fate. She might not be free to become whatever she wanted and marry who she wanted but she was going to make the best of it. Snape's head snapped to face her in surprise obviously not having believed she would marry him.

"Are you sure?" He asked warily after looking at her for a moment trying to see if she was being serious. She sighed softly brushing her curly hair out of her face and nodded not happy with her decision but knowing it was unfortunately the right one. Snape got off the couch he and the headmaster had been sitting in and walked slowly towards her keeping their eyes locking and she saw an emotion in his black eyes that she couldn't Identify but that was strong nonetheless, so strong it took her breath away and she could look away from him. He stopped right in front of her and she had to look up to keep looking into his eyes because he was so tall, she had never before realized how much taller than her he was. Slowly he sank down onto one knee and took her small soft hand in his much larger calloused hand.

"Will you marry me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione walked along side her professor in a state of shock not really looking where they were going but not caring. She would soon be married to one of the cruelest men that she knew and she had agreed to do so willingly. She had lost her mind she was sure of it. Snape's robes billowed darkly illuminated by the moon's light. It had to be after 11 pm by now and she was ready for bed. Strangely enough she knew that if she tried to go to sleep she wouldn't be able to so she just followed her professor without complaint. They had apperated to some unspecified place and were currently walking along a long winding dirt road that obviously hadn't been traveled in some time considering all the tracks of any previous cars had been blown away in the wind.

She pushed back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her and instead concentrated on the bright stars that somehow seemed brighter here than anywhere else she had ever been. Or maybe she just never really looked at the stars enough. They passed rows and rows of what might've been apple trees but it was hard to tell in the dim light. Snape's pace had already been fast but it seemed to be steadily increasing so she had to abandon her attempts to distract herself with her surroundings and concentrate on not tripping in any unexpected bumps in the road.

"Can we slow down?" She asked panting slightly from the quick pace. He glared at her and ignored her question but did slow down just slightly but it was enough for her to catch her breath.

"What kind of wedding shall you want?" He asked formally the question sounding as foreign to him as it did to her. She frowned not ever having though of such trivial things as getting married. She had always planned on being a career women a family would have just held her back.

"Oh I don't know something small and simple I know you don't make much as a teacher so I won't drain your wallet for a marriage you don't even want." He frowned, his pace slowing a little more as he thought much to her relief.

"No I don't suppose a teacher would make very much would they?" He said snarkily. Somehow she had offended him by trying to take into consideration his low finances. This marriage was going to be very tricky she could already see it. She sighed and pushed her loose strands of hair behind her ear nervously trying to think of a way to sooth his hurt pride.

"I don't mind that you don't make much professor its okay really, money isn't important to me." She told him softly hoping that he believed her. She could make her own money didn't need a sugar daddy to support her that wasn't why she agreed to marry him at all. She just wanted to save him from getting killed not take him meager earnings. He ignored her comment and instead just looked forward his face a closed book. She felt horrible for hurting his feelings but if he wasn't even going to be an adult and acknowledge her apology she wasn't going to worry about it.

A large iron gate appeared out of the blackness of the night about twenty yards from them and she gasped in surprise. It was silver and about as big as most houses were. It rose about 70 feet off the dusty road and was the most magnificent things he had ever seen. The golden gates at Hogwarts had nothing on this gate. There were intricate cravings in the middle made of twisted silver metal that formed beautiful designs on each side of the gate that mirrored each other. Even in the dim light the gate was nothing less than astounding.

"Where are we?" She asked as he waved his wand in front of the gate doing intricate spells she had never seen before obviously taking the wards down. He smirked at her shocked look looking very smug indeed.

"We, my fiancé, are at Prince Manor. " She startled surprised at this declaration.

"Whose house is this? I've never heard of anyone named Prince?"She questioned as the giant gates finally started to draw open creaking as they did so. Snape put his wand away and started through and Hermione quickly followed after him.

"My family is the Prince family. It was my mom's name before she married my father. This is the manor I have built for my summers and since you are my fiancé and now kicked out of your house it is only fitting that you stay here with me until school starts." He said sounding unsure of his decision to bring her here. What did he think she was going to do ruin all his things? She was hardly a kid anymore. She felt annoyed and a little stupid for assuming he didn't have money. His family must have been wealthy. The manor loomed out of the darkness and if she though the gates were impressive they weren't anything on the manor.

It was old Victorian style and had to be at least four stories high with even taller towers coming off the sides. It was perched on a small mound higher than the surroundings and she could help but feel like it would be a shame if it hadn't been raised up. It was grand enough it deserved to be set apart from the orchards and gardens that surrounded it.

"It's beautiful!" She exclaimed in wonder amazed at his, for lack of a better word, castle. He simply nodded in agreement stopping at the front wooden door and performing another complex set of wand movements that was well beyond her level of understanding. Snape put his wand away after a moment and open the weighty door for her letting her go through before himself. She stepped across the threshold nervously. She was greeted by a room that was two stories high and at least 1200 square feet. The floor was a brilliant white marble and the walls were smooth unlike the stone outside of the building and painted white. In the center of the room was a large silver chandelier that was about 20 feet across and gave the whole room a rich elegance. There were photos on the wall that moved animatedly in their black frames that stood out brilliantly in the light colors of the room.

She was in awe. He had to be a millionaire she was sure of it. He wasn't just rich, he was filthy rich. He came up behind her and stood so close to her that she could feel the breath on the back of her neck and it sent tingles down her body and she felt an odd warmth spread through her that felt very foreign and made her feel uneasy about his close proximity.

"Still want a small wedding?" He asked softly tickling her neck with his breath. He sounded very pleased with her reaction and maybe even a bit relived.

"This is amazing Professor, who decorated it? The colors go so well together!" She asked relived when he walked around her and his breath stopped doing inappropriate things to her body. He didn't answer but she was getting used to his ignoring her questions and was eager to see the rest of the castle so she obediently followed his long strides. He led her down hall after hall of brightly lit marble floors and gorgeous paintings of landscapes and people she had never seen before. There were torches every few feet so even in the darkness of night every brilliant detail of the master pieces were visible. She had very quickly lost count of the number of doors they passed and very quickly felt lost in the jumble of hallways.

Suddenly he stopped in front of a particularly detailed door with carvings of at least five snakes twisting and winding around themselves the carvings moving with more grace then she thought wood could have.

"Passsssword?" One of the bigger snakes asked Snape looking straight at them.

"Pig Latin." He stated formally not looking at her but she could have sworn she had seen a bit of pink on his cheeks. He was obviously embarrassed by his not so complicated password but she didn't comment. She was so tired by the time the door swung open that her only thoughts were to go to sleep and not wake up for days. Today had possibly been the longest day of her life and she was ready for it to be over. At first the abandonment of her family was just an action that had happened during the course of the day but now her tired mind couldn't shake off the hurt she felt and she almost felt overwhelmed by her grief.

She barely even looked at the dimly lit large room before she headed straight to the dark wooden bed and got under the covers not even waiting for snape or asking for permission. The covers weren't silk like her but more like a high quality jersey knit and was soft nonetheless and soothed her aching body. Her eyes closed almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and she was drifting off to sleep when the other side of the bed dipped noticeably and she shot up all thoughts of sleep forgotten in an instance.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed in shock at the figure slipping under the covers next to her.

"Going to sleep…" He drawled as if she was a complete idiot ignoring her outrage and shifting around to get comfortable.

"In the same bed as me? Were not married yet!" He glared at her though she could've sworn she saw a bit of amusement in his black eyes but it was gone so quick she couldn't be sure.

"Well this is MY bed and since you so kindly put yourself in it if you didn't want to share it with me you might have wanted to choose a different bed." He lectured her rolling over ignoring her sputtering. She had just assumed he would show her a bed for her to sleep in first then go to his room. Unless he wanted to sleep with her and knew she would just collapse into the first bed she saw. She huffed in annoyance refusing to lay down with him.

How dare he try to sleep with her? Sharing a bed was something married couples did and she only had less than 30 days of being free and she didn't plan on spending it acting married already.

"Well take me to my bed now!" She commanded to her professor surprised at herself a little. She had never used that tine with a professor before and felt a little rebellious. He ignored her and instead started to snore pretending to be asleep obviously. He couldn't have fallen asleep that quickly especially when she just yelled at him to take her to her bed.

She grabbed his shoulder to shake him to force him to take her to a different bed but as soon as her hands touched his shoulder he shot up in bed a murderous look on his face and she realized she had made a mistake. He had been so human before she had forgotten he was indeed the most feared man at Hogwarts for a reason.

"Don't touch me." He snapped at her his voice low and deadly." She opened her mouth to apologize but nothing came out for a good minuet she was so shocked at his sudden turn around.

"I...I…I'm Sorry." She stuttered meekly feeling like a little first year again under his harsh glare. Slowly his glare softened and his body which had tensed up instantly upon her touching him eased into a more relaxed position.

"You can't just grab me Ms. Granger." He told her his voice stern and completely serious a frown on his face making him look years older than he really was. She was lost why didn't he like being touched?

"Why not? I was just going to shake your shoulder and get you to take me to a different bed, but I've never seen anyone jump like that before." He ignored her comment and slowly eased himself back under the covers turning away from her snuggling down in the pillow like no man should but they were so soft she didn't really blame him.

"Professor…why'd you react like that? I'm not going to just let it drop." She stated firmly intent on getting to the bottom of his weird behavior. They were going to be wed and that meant he needed to open up to her. Not hold everything in and skirt around the questions. He didn't answer but just pulled the covers up over his shoulders not that it was really nessicary considering he was fully dressed and it was summer.

"Stop ignoring me will you! I'm not any happier about this then you so just answer the damn question!" She practically yelled at him frustrated and being in a bad mood only making her frustration worse.

"There are some things you don't want to know Granger, now get to sleep." He stated emotionlessly not bothering to even open his eyes let alone turn over. She fumed determined to not let him just brush her off like some annoying student. She would demand to be treated like his equal and that means actually talking to her for goodness sakes!

"I will not let it drop, now you can either turn over and talk to me or I can keep you up all night bugging you about it, which one would you rather have!"She exclaimed what little was left of her patience running out. Still he didn't turn over or face her and she was about to lose it when he finally started talking in barely more than a whisper.

"My father would come into my room at night when he was drunk and dragged me out of bed to punish me for whatever wrong doing I had supposedly done during the day. Happy now Granger?" She sat next to him in stunned silence and felt an overwhelming sympathy for the prickly man. She was blessed with a good childhood; obviously his had been anything but good. She understood now why he was so detached emotionally from everyone and everything. The people who were supposed to love him the most had betrayed him. That was something you never fully heal from.

"I'm sorry professor I didn't know." She said softly looking at her hands ashamed of her outburst and stubbornness. She felt him shifting beside her and finally sit up and face her. He raised her chin and turned it so she got trapped in his endless black eyes. She thought he was going to rebuke her and say she needed to just let him tell her things when he was ready to but he did no such things.

He slowly lowered his lips to her so gently she could barely feel them at first. She felt a spark of electricity go through her the instance their lips meant and she leaned forward deepening the kiss feeling her heart melt in an instance.


	3. Chapter 3

She couldn't believe what they had done. She laid in bed aware that he had left probably hours ago and the bed was very cold. She had looked around the grand room but made no move to get up, not quite yet anyways. The room had smooth light tan walls with white crown molding and was approximately the size of the whole downstairs of her home. To her right was an elegant sitting area with light green leather chairs and a large sofa surrounding a fireplace. To her left was a large black stained oak wardrobe that had intricate carving s that had been done by the same hand that did the door to this room. There was identical snakes on the front doors of the wardrobe that twisted and curled around each other and the door handle. There was also a door leaving presumably to the bathroom that was closed so she couldn't see in it.

The bed she currently laid on was a black oak made of the same wood as the wardrobe with tall poles of the dark wood on each corner holding up light green curtains that surrounded the bed. The curtains were opened letting in some soft light. The covers were soft silver and they looked at comfortable as they felt and she certainly didn't want to leave the bed.

Her reluctance wasn't completely the result of the comfort of the bed but actually mainly in an attempt to avoid her professor/fiancé. She was a respectable girl and had always acted as such. She had never so much as taken her shirt off in front of a guy let alone let her grope her or do anything inappropriate. She had read about sex, yes, but that didn't mean she really knew what it was all about and had never had any real desire to learn. She figured on the off chance she did get married they would wait until her wedding day and if she never got married she was perfectly fine not having sex.

She was ashamed of the previous night's actions. VERY ashamed. It had all started innocently enough with that sweet tender kiss he gave her so she would know all was forgiven. But that kiss had caused an ache in her that she had never felt before, one that once stroked, would demand to become a flame.

Today was going to be SO awkward she could already see it. She started when a loud POP interrupted her regretful thoughts.

"Mister Prince would like your company for lunch in the office." A small and young house elf informed her formally. It had a white uniform on that had a gold trim. Obviously not a slave to the professor but that didn't nessicarily mean he paid them! She would have to ask him just to make sure. A house like this needed housekeepers but he obviously had the money to pay them.

"Tell him I'm not feeling up to lunch, umm what your name was?" she asked the little elf kindly. The elf dropped its formal stance quickly surprised at her kindness and smiled big its ears perking up just slightly.

"I, madam, am Slippy, Mister Prince's personal house elf!" Slippy said proudly puffing out its chest obviously feeling important for being his personal house elf. She smiled at the sweet creature amused at its big attitude for such a small elf.

"Well Slippy, you can tell Mister Prince that I will not be joining him for lunch since I'm not feeling up to it." The house elf nodded enthusiastically and disappeared with a pop. She shook her head amused and decided to get out of bed, she was sure she looked a mess. She walked across the soft white carpet to the bathroom and opened the door expectantly. She was not disappointed.

It was much like the entrance hall; it had more space then was reasonable and had shiny white marble for floors. The counters were pristine white and had silver facets in the shape of snakes. The bath was huge and akin more to a Jacuzzi then a bath tub. It had five different silver snake incrusted faucets that she assumed had different scents to them like the ones at Hogwarts did. She decided she had to have a bath it just looked too inviting. She needed to get rid of the dirty feeling she had anyways. She turned on each facet smelling them in turn before deciding on using one that smelled like vanilla and honey. She had just sank into the sudsy warm water when a she heard another loud pop followed by a squeaky voice calling

"Misses! Misses! Where are you?" She groaned having the strange feeling Snape had sent the elf back to insist she come to lunch. She had just got comfortable too.

"Yes Slippy? I'm in here taking a bath." She called out tiredly annoyed at her bath being interrupted. Why did it matter if she went to lunch? She really didn't want to see him right now she still needed time to absorb what happened and get control over herself and her emotions. What would she do if it happened again? It was so immoral and against her normal behavior she just wanted to wash any signs of it off her body. She heard the houses elf little feet coming towards the bathroom stopping just outside of the door.

"Mister Prince insists that you join him for lunch in his office, he insists it is very important." Slippy said regally enjoying getting to send out messages obviously. Hermione practically growled in anger. If he wanted to act like he was her lord this marriage would not work. She refused to be bossed around. No matter how good last night was.

She got out of the heavenly water and grabbed a grey towel off the rack next to the tub and proceeded to dry off as quick as she could determined to give Snape a piece of her mind.

"Tell him I will be there in twenty minutes I don't have any cloths on at the moment." She told Slippy hoping he got his hopes up for a repeat so she could stomp on those hopes. She was his fiancé, not his student anymore! Well at least until September comes around.

She brushed her wild curly hair back into a pony tail leaving just a little out to frame her face. She put on makeup for the first time in she didn't know how long and pulled on her tightest pair of jeans and a light blue tank top. She didn't know why but even though she was annoyed at him she still felt very self conscious and strangely enough WANTED him to look at her the way he had last night, as if her body was that of a goddess and he couldn't resist. After at least thirty minutes she was finally ready to make her appearance and started down the halls in the direction she thought the office was in from what little she remembered of the walk in last night.

Luckily her instincts were right and she arrived at the office without getting lost. The double doors were open to reveal a casual sitting area in the center of the large room that was surrounded by four walls of old and valuable looking ancient books. It had only a small amount of light coming in through the large windows on the opposite side of the room that led to a balcony. She assumed that the windows had been spelled to ensure the room never got too bright to create the relaxful atmosphere of the room. The sun was up at its high point and yet it still looked like dawn in the office. Snape and the headmaster were sitting in two of the large chairs and were leaning in talking softly about something or another so at first they didn't see her.

She felt very under dressed if she had known there would be company she would have put on more reserved cloths! She shifted nervously at the door not sure if she should go change but her opportunity was lost when Snape looked up and saw her. He didn't look ticked off like she had expect considering she was about twenty minutes late at this point but rather looked at her as if she was an annoying child who had interrupted her.

"Miss Granger, we have company please have a seat." He commanded in a no nonsense tone after eyeing her outfit darkly. He apparently didn't approve. She felt a little bit of satisfaction at having annoyed him like he had annoyed her. It was only fair.

She walked into the office nervously and sat down beside the headmaster feeling Snapes dark eyes on her the whole time and feeling very nervous. That warm feeling in her abdomen had returned full force and had made her almost wish the headmaster wasn't there. Almost.

"Good afternoon Professor. Headmaster." She greeted respectfully trying not to show her nervousness.

"Well good afternoon to you too; I see you slept well considering the circumstances." The headmaster said kindly excusing her tardiness even though it had been purposeful. He didn't know that though. Hopefully Snape hadn't told him about last night, she would be so embarrassed. If he knew he didn't let on though he simply continued with the conversation with Snape so she grabbed a sandwich off the dark oak table and began to scruff it down. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she took her first bite. After the third sandwich she looked up suddenly aware that the conversation had ended to find both Snape and the headmaster staring at her in shock.

"What? I'm hungry!" She said defensively feeling very unappealing at that moment despite her revealing cloths. Snape would never touch her again she was sure of it. Why would you want him to? That nagging part of her mind that didn't believe in sex till marriage said tauntingly. She slowed her eating down to a more socially acceptable rate and after a minuet they continued their conversation on…well something. She couldn't focus on it for some reason today it was simply too boring.

"Can I leave?" She asked after an hour feeling very much like a little kid but tired of their boring conversation. Snape stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked at her with annoyance.

"What Granger? Is this conversation beyond your level?" He asked her annoyance lacing his voice. The headmaster chuckled obviously not offended at all.

"Severus, be nice to your soon to be wife, she is simply bored she is a women after all they don't find the same things fascinating as men do." He chided Snape good naturedly. Giving Hermione a smile his eyes twinkling. Snape didn't look amused at all at her short attention span or her instance on leaving.

"Miss Granger if you are to marry me don't you suppose you should attempt to learn to socialize when we have company or are you incapable of intelligent conversation?" He ground out impatiently. The gentle man from last nights activities was gone replaced by Snape the bastard. She sighed; he did have a good point, but right now she wanted to do something fun. Not talk politics.

"How about we talk about something I like then?" She asked not backing down. Her sanity just wouldn't allow anything else. Snape didn't respond but rather glared openly at her which she returned with just as much enthusiasm. At least this was better than sitting here listening to them talk.

"Well Severus she does have a point, you have to learn to compromise you know, how about we talk about the wedding!" The headmaster exclaimed delighted at the idea of planning their wedding with them. Hermione and Snape both groaned in unison making the headmaster laugh heartedly at their expense.

"I don't want to think about the wedding let alone plan it!" Hermione insisted really wanting to leave the room and do anything but this.

"Why child, every women wants to plan her wedding!" The headmaster insisted trying to convince her to start planning it if he loved anything, it was weddings.

"I'm 18 years old scarcely more than a child and I'm getting forced to marry someone who is not only twice my age but someone I don't like! Someone I would rather die than marry but unfortunately the blood of the whole wizarding world would be on my hands if I don't marry him so I don't have a choice. I'm sorry if I'm not ecstatic." The headmaster back off instantly at the sudden venom in her voice. She had got her way finally and now she could leave! Before she could get up and find something better to do Snape had already crossed the room in less than three seconds flat his robes billowing fearfully behind him not giving her so much as a good bye. She sat frozen realizing her mistake.

She had obviously hurt his feelings in her attempt to get out of this room. She hadn't meant to, she was just telling the truth but as an overwhelming guilt seined her she decided there are some truths that are better not said.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione searched through the long twisting corridors looking for her professor. The headmaster had left right after Snape had stormed out insisting this was something they had to work through together. Which she had every intention of doing, if she could find him that is. After at least 30 minutes she heard the distinct sound of footfall inside of a nearby door so she immediately went in without even knocking. All she could think of was apologizing and making things better with him so normal manners were forgotten.

He was standing in front of a gold encrusted fireplace that had engravings of lions along its edges that gave it a regal appearance. There wasn't any furniture in the room it just had two windows that had been shuttered in and the fireplace. He didn't seem to notice her rude intrusion he just looked straight into the burning fire that stood out in the darkness of the room. She immediately had an uneasy feeling when walking in though she couldn't quite place her finger on why.

"Professor? Are you okay" She asked timidly afraid to startle him and make him even madder at her. He ignored her soft question and she thought she saw a small shudder go through him. Was he crying? It was impossible he was the biggest jerk she had ever met and had a thick skin that no one could get to. His very life had rested on his ability to control his emotions so he couldn't be crying. Impossible.

"I'm really sorry Professor, I truly am, I didn't mean it to come out that way I was simply overwhelmed and everything is happening so fast and…" She didn't finish her sentence wishing to give him more comfort but what more was there to say? All she had were excuses. Lame excuses that did more harm than good she was sure of it. He looked to her finally waiting for her to finish and she could tell by the redness in his eyes that he had been crying after all. She felt her heart break for him and just wanted to comfort him and erase the pain she had caused. Maybe she didn't love him, but she shouldn't have been cruel.

When she didn't say anything else he turned back to the fire with the same blank expression it chilled her to her bones. She had never seen such emptiness in someone. Especially never because of her. She felt tears start to spill down her face so she put her face in her hands not wanting him to see them. She tried to press down on her eyes to stop them but heard herself sob and knew she was failing miserably.

She heard him approach her and she tried to still the flow of tears but she seemed to only cry harder much to her embarrassment. Why on earth was she so emotional about someone she didn't even care about this she needed to get a grip! She felt his warm hands cover her cold ones and slowly pull them off her face. She expected to see cold black eyes filled with hatred but instead she saw concern.

"Don't cry." The words were harsh but the tone was soft. He obviously didn't know what to do with emotional women. He seemed very unsure of himself and he held her hands in his unconsciously rubbing them to warm them.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what's wrong with me today." She said lamely looking at the floor in shame hoping he didn't let go of her hands. They seemed to warm more than just her skin but her soul too. Maybe she just wanted to feel something so her mind was playing tricks on her but she hoped the warm feeling was real. He drew her slightly closer to him and let go of her right hand to tilt her head. Reluctantly she looked in his eyes and felt herself fall into their depths. It was amazing. Maybe God knew what he was doing when he put them together after all.

"I can be whatever you want, whatever you need Ms. Granger. You saved me so I will be a gentleman to you and make sure you're happy. Whatever other men will give you, I will times it by ten and you will never want to leave my side." Snape told her looking straight in her eyes his voice hard and left no denyng that he was speaking the truth.

"I don't deserve to be spoiled I don't deserve you." Hermionie insisted through tears her voice breaking with emotion.

"You deserve everything I have and that's what I intend on giving you. Everything that is mine is yours. I know you wouldn't of chosen this marriage had you had any option, but I will make it as bearable as possible." She could'nt belive what he was telling her it was too good to be true. She couldn't be forgiven that easily and certaintly couldn't be spoiled like this.

"Professer I did what was right, im harldy a saint and yet you act like I am. You don't have to spoil me to make me stay around so you don't get killed, I agreed to maryr you when I thought you were poor, You don't have to give ma anything." She insisted not wanting him to think she was doing this just for the money. He looked at her with amusement and she could have sworm he was smiling at her.

"Ms. Grnager you are not a saint, you are an Angel, my angel, and you will be treated as such. I may be a cold prickly man but if I do anything, its treat a women right." He said his eyes bright with amusement as if she was a silly child. She coldnt help but feel that when he said she was his angel his tone was that of possession.

"So what if I decided to sleep with someone else would I still be an angel then?" She asked testing him to see if he was indeed becoming jelouse. The amusement left his face instantly and he looked at her with an intensity that scared her.

"That will never happen because no other man is allowed to touch what is mine." She was surprised at the fierceness in his voice and she knew she was looking in the face not of Snape, the sleepy man that she shared a bed with, but the cold death eater capable of killing just to prove a point.

"Oh yes Ms. Granger do not be mistaken I will never lay a finger on you, but any man who tries to harm you will suffer the most hideous death I can think of and I am quite creative." He said silkily seeming satisfied at the fear in her eyes.

"Would you still think of me as an angel if I did so though?" She asked tenitivly not sure of how he would respond considering the fierceness of his anger at just the idea of it. Surprisingly his face softened slightly and he looked at her thoughtlyfully his anger dissapaited.

"Would I still think of you as an angel? Yes. I would. Just a fallen angel ." He responded softly

He dried what was left of her tears by running his hands across her cheeks softly and she looked away unable to handle the intimacy. Last time they had been this close she had done way more then she had planned and as much as she owed him right now she didn't want that to happen again. She took a step back putting a little breathing distance between the two of them.

"I have to leave Ms. Granger, feel free to roam as you wish." He said his eyes turning cold again and his defenses back up. He seemed to have realized where things were leading too and he took a step back and let her hands drop to her sides. At least he had seemed to forgive her for her comment because while he seemed to revert back to himself he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving her alone.

She wandered around the maze of rooms on all four floors looking into all the guest suites each with its own color scheme and decoration style. She thought the room with the Victorian style was perhaps her favorite, except maybe Snapes rooms. She also found three extensive libraries each as large as the Hogwarts library and spent several hours in each before deciding which books she simply had to take with her back to her rooms for some light reading.

She also found a massive kitchen with at least a dozen house elves all trying to feed her, several offices, two large dining halls, and too many bathrooms to count. By the time she got back to Snapes room it was well past dark and her feet were aching. Snape however was nowhere to be found and everything was still exactly as they left this morning so she didn't think that he had been back yet.

She decided to take herself a nice warm bath to relax her tired muscles and get rid of the stress from the day. She didn't fall into bed until at least midnight and by then she was so exhausted she just collapsed into bed and for the second night in a row was out before she hit the pillow.

Sometime during the night he had returned because when she woke up to pee at 5am he was in bed besides her sleeping. The covers had fallen off him sometime after he fell asleep and she couldn't help but notice as she passed him that he wasn't wearing a shirt so his extremely well built muscles were showing. Her daddy would be so ashamed! She padded quickly over to the bathroom trying to be quiet so she wouldn't wake him up. He had to be tired with his late night but any hopes of letting him sleep in peace were ruined when she was overwhelmed by a sudden urge to be sick.

She bent over the porcelain toilet and heaved up her stomach contents violently and loudly. Unsurprisingly she heard him coming into the bathroom as she dry heaved again her eyes burning more from embarrassment then having gotten sick. She felt him pull her hair back and rub her back gently which to her surprise made her nausea recede.

"Thanks." She said weakly after she was sure she could open her mouth without getting sick.

"You're welcome Ms. Granger." He sounded tired but not disgusted as she expected and he handed her a washcloth without making any comment on how unlady like this was.

"I don't suppose you have anything to help with nausea do you professor?" She asked as he helped her to her feet and looked at her sideways black rings under his eyes showing how little sleep he had gotten. Instantly she guilty for having woken him up even though she hadn't intended on it.

"I'm all out." He replied after looking at her strangely for a minute. What was so weird about asking for anti-nausea potion? He was the potion master after all. He left her to brush her teeth and go pee by herself and by the time she came back out he was snoring peacefully.

Over the next three weeks they fell into a comfortable routine spending very little time with each other, but what time they were together it was getting a little less awkward each day. Her wedding was coming up but she hadn't even started planning it having no interest in pretending that they were happy an in love when they really weren't.

She was happier then she thought she would be and Snape was better to her then she would ever have expected but in the end, it wasn't love, and they both knew that. It was a forced marriage that in the end, neither of them wanted.

She was getting more and more stressed about making such a commitment to a loveless marriage with a death eater that she was eating less and less her appetite was nonexistent and she could tell she was losing weight. Her late night toilet visits were becoming more often happening at least four times a week only making her weight loss even worse. If he ever seemed annoyed at being woken up at night by her retching yet again he didn't show it, he just held her hair back and rubbed her back without saying a word. She wasn't sure she could be so patient with someone waking her up every night just as she was getting to sleep.

She didn't think he ever went to bed before 3am, at first she asked why he was out so late but by the lack of response on his part she quickly realized he was working for the dark lord all night. Three days before the wedding she was busy getting ready for the start of term that was quickly creeping up on her when she was startled by a loud POP.

"Mister Snape requests Miss Granger's presence in the entrance hall." Slippy announced formally his chest puffed out proudly. Hermione giggled at the silly creature causing Slippy to smile broadly before popping out again. She had grown quite fond of the little elf in the last three weeks since he was the only elf that Snape ever used to send messages which happened quite often in the massive house.

She arrived in the entrance hall practically skipping with happiness. She hadn't gotten to talk to Snape in at least two days and was eager to see him while he was actually awake. To her dismay Ms. Wesley was standing with Snape in the large hall so she knew they wouldn't be getting any alone time today.

"Hello Ms. Wesley." Hermione greeted the motherly witch trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Ms. Wesley gave her a warm hug then looked at her with a frown.

"Have you been feeding her Severus? She's lost at least twenty pounds and she was skinny to begin with!" She scolded Snape much to Hermione's embarrassment.

"It's okay Ms. Wesley it's just from stress; really, he feeds me more than enough." Ms. Wesley looked skeptical but let her weight drop for the moment at least. Snape gave her a kiss on the forehead surprising Ms. Wesley who obviously wasn't used to seeing him in anything but bastard mode.

"Well I would love to join you but I have urgent matters to attend to so you guys will have to plan the wedding without me." He said with a small bow to Ms. Wesley and he left with a flourish before she could even protest. He had tricked her into the dreaded wedding planning she had been trying to avoid. Damn him!

"Well!" Ms. Wesley said clapping excitedly obviously thrilled at getting to plan the dreaded wedding.

"What color scheme were you planning on?" She asked oblivious to Hermione's disgust. Hermione groaned. This would be a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

To all my reviewers, I fixed chapter one, no the war is not over. It is very important to this story actually for the war to NOT be over, I was going on three hours of sleep while writing the first chapter so I completely overlooked that. As to all my grammar errors I realize I am horrible at grammar if anyone would like to be my beta let me know! Lastly, as to Hermione, you will see how it all works out she is after all a witch and not subject to normal guidelines. No she has never been with anyone else ;) She is supposed to be very innocent (at this point) and that is one of the reasons why Snape has become so protective for her.

Hermione looked through yet another book full of different flowers each one with a name even more ridiculous then the last. Why anyone would ever care to create such a list of flowers she would never know, but if she ever met them, then she would have to kill them.

"What about just regular roses Mrs. Wesley, I don't want anything crazy and defintly don't want something like Sunny Tropical Florida Tulip. That's just too much for me." She insisted while Mrs. Wesley shuffled through mountains of catalogs and folders each one more daunting then the last.

"This is your wedding, it's your one day to splurge and buy ridiculous things you would never normally buy, and no one buys just plain roses. What would all your guests think?" Mrs. Wesley said offhandedly barely paying attention finally finding the folder she had been looking for. The dreaded wedding dress folder, maybe looking at flowers wasn't so bad.

"I was thinking maybe you should have a mermaid style dress with a little bit of lace around the edges to give it a vintage feel what do you think Hermione?" Mrs. Wesley asked expectantly not seeming to notice Hermione's disinterest. Hermione just sat there staring blankly at Mrs. Wesley not having a clue why she would want to look like a mermaid for her wedding let alone wear lace while looking like a mermaid.

"What about just a plain white dress. No lace or mermaid or anything else like that, just a white dress."

"Well why on earth would you want a boring wedding dress? What about this one?" Mrs. Wesley asked showing her the photo of a hideous dress with so much frill you could scarcely see the model. She flipped through the pages before finding one that caught her eye. It was long and was made of a shiny white silk. It had a sweetheart neckline and was simple but stunning.

"What about this one? It's pretty and I won't look like an upside down mushroom in it!"

"How did it go?" Snape asked as he slid into bed beside her that night at three am. She had gotten in the habit of waking up when he got in bed so they could at least talk for a few minutes before he fell asleep and she wouldn't see him again till the next morning. He usually took his cloths all off before coming tonight but apparently he was more tired than normal because he was still wearing his death eater robes when he laid down next to her. She tried not to stare but couldn't help but feeling a tug to her core at how powerful they reminded her that he was.

"Umm okay I guess, we found a dress and picked out what color scheme I wanted. Besides that I pretty much just let her pick whatever she wanted I don't really care what the wedding looks like." She replied relived when he pulled the covers up to his chin hiding his robes. She could tell he was falling asleep already because his breath started to even out almost instantly and his whole body relaxed.

"Professor?" She asked not wanting him to fall asleep quite yet though why, she couldn't say. He was obviously exhausted but she just really wanted to talk with him. Maybe be she needed more human contact.

"What." He replied gruffly his voice groggy but it meant he was still awake at least.

"Have you ever been in love?" She asked curiously. The question had plagued her mind for days now she had realized that she really didn't know anything about his past maybe he was in love with someone else still how would she know? He turned over and looked at her harshly obviously not expecting the question. All signs of weariness were gone though.

"Why would you ask that?" He replied coldly. He seemed to have realized he was still clothed and he got up and started taking his robes off.

"Oh I don't know just curious really." She said airily enjoying the view as he slowly undid each button on his shirt he wore under his robes. She felt like she was being teased getting a little bit better of a view with each agonizing button.

"Yes I have." He said darkly after finishing the last button and removing his shirt. Next were his pants she thought excitedly her eyes roaming his body freely since he wasn't paying any attention to her.

"Well who were you in love with?" She asked watching him pull his trousers off to reveal his black satin boxers and she could see in the dim light the outline of his well endowed package. She was lucky indeed. While most girls her age were stuck with boys she defintly had a man.

"Lilly." His voice was barely above a whisper and at first she was sure she had misunderstood but then realization dawned on her and everything fell into place. That was why he hated Harry; James had gotten the girl he had wanted. When she had found him in the empty room in front of the fireplace, the lions were in tribute to her, Hermione hadn't made him cry he was just missing Lilly. He slid into bed beside her again and turned away from her. She could tell this was a very sensitive subject to him and she doubted he told very many people besides her that he was still in love with Lilly. If he had told anyone else in the first place.

"I'm sorry." She said softly wanting to reach out and comfort him but scared of making him mad again.

"That must be so hard to watch someone you love be taken away then killed. I shouldn't of brought this up I'm sorry."

"She was killed because of me, not because she left." Snape said his voice cold and bitter. His eyes were glittering darkly as he slid into bed besides her not laying down like he had before but instead sitting up beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I asked James to protect her. She didn't leave me, I essentially abandoned her. Not that it did any good, the dark lord still found out where she was and killed her. Not before James had his way with her of course though." He told her his voice filled with venom at the thought of Lilly with another man.

"I'm sorry." She said regretting even bringing it up now it obviously still pained him to talk about. He didn't reply but instead grabbed the bottom of her silk shirt and pulled it above her head revealing her soft pale skin beneath. He took in the sight appreciatively the previous conversation forgotten instantly

"Professor, we really shouldn't be doing this again I mean were not married yet." She said half-heartedly feeling like she should protest but not really wanting to. He pushed her down on the bed and got on top of her surprising her so she didn't even have time to stop him. He ran his hands over her stomach his hands calloused from potions making feelings come alive in her that defintly did not feel innocent.

"Well didn't God come up with the no sex before marriage rule so that people would be in love before they had sex? Were not in love now and will still won't be in love when were married, so what difference does it make?" Normally she would be able to think of a clever argument to his point but right now she had to say he was right. He brushed his lips against her stomach so gently they felt like butterfly kisses and she felt her core heat up and she arched into his touch wanting more. He didn't disappoint and kissed her repeatedly slowly getting closer and closer to her shorts.

"So what do you want to name it?" He asked his breath tickling her skin making her shiver expectantly.

"Name what?" She asked annoyed at the lack of kisses on her stomach but he instead started massaging her stomach in soft circles picking up where the kisses stopped.

"The baby what else." He replied as if she was a first year asking what a potion was. He glanced up at her stopping his ministrations when he saw the blank look on her face.

"What on earth are you going on about?" She said fearing he'd lost his mind. Surely he wasn't planning baby names this far ahead she after all did have a year to get pregnant and she would rather it be later then sooner.

"Your pregnant, surely you realized that with all the morning sickness and mood swings, your stomach is even getting hard." She burst out laughing when she realized he not only was insinuating she was pregnant but he really thought she was.

"Its just stress for goodness sakes! You don't get morning sickness the next day after you have sex, my God even I'm not that thick, do you know anything about women?" She said amused at how little he knew about babies. And she thought she was the innocent one. Instead of looking relived like she had expected he simply looked concerned and got off her all playfulness gone from his expression.

"Maybe in the muggle world that's how it works, but you're a witch remember? With a witch the symptoms start immediately, have you ever read a witches pregnancy book?" He was wrong she knew it, they had only done it once the chance s of something happening out of that one time were so minuet it wasn't even a consideration.

"Don't talk such nonsense, your exhausted I've kept you up too long, go to sleep." She said offhandedly brushing the topic off. She got out of bed ignoring the pointed look from him telling herself once again that her mid night trips to the loo were just stress. That's all.

The day of her wedding she woke up with an excruciating headache so she immediately went to go take a bath in Snapes relaxing tub. As she sank into the water she couldn't help but feel anxious about the upcoming wedding. After today she would no longer be a single women, she would be married to someone twice her age. It was a daunting thought to be just 18 and married to someone with twice the amount of life experience and especially someone that was so dark. She had seen him come home from his meetings every night each time looking even darker and more troubled.

She had tried to get him to talk to her about his meetings but had quickly learned it was easier talking to a stone wall. Did she really want to get married to such a cold calloused man who didn't even care about her? She was pretty sure he was still in love with Lilly and if the man loved her for this long he was never going to get over her.

He was good to her though and when he was in a good mood he could actually be fun to be around. She just needed to concentrate on the positive in the relationship instead of the negative. They both just had to make the best out of a bad situation.

She got out of the tub and had started to dry off when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. The conversation from last night came back to her with a crash. From the front she had lost weight and looked way too skinny to be healthy, but when she looked at herself from the side she could see the slightest of curves in her stomach. No. She was imagining it; she was just paranoid because of his comment, that's all. She jumped when someone knocked on the bathroom door breaking her out of her thoughts suddenly.

"Its time to get ready Ms. Granger." Snape told her brusquely through the door. She could tell he was impatient they were supposed to have left a while ago but it was her wedding day she could be late if she wanted to be. She took a deep calming breath to hold down the panic that she felt at having to leave to her doom.

"I'll be out in a minute." She called back to him and threw on some fresh clothes real quick before joining him. Together they left the manor for the first time since they arrived there three weeks ago and once outside the gates Snape offered his hand expectantly. She took it and felt a sharp tug behind her navel as she was apperated away to the church where they would be married.


End file.
